No matter where you are on your family building journey, understanding your reproductive health risks and options will maximize your choices and can improve your fertility outcomes. Working with a Frame Coach means having your own personal resource and guide to hold your hand and move you forward. If you are years out from trying to conceive, you are in an excellent position to optimize your future fertility with preconception care and health coaching. If you are starting to plan or actively trying to conceive, Frame is here to provide the critical information and support you need to build the family you desire.
Key takeaways:
- Preconception health focuses on planning for the future as you address risks and make healthy changes in order to meet your family building goals
- Fertility coaching is especially impactful when it comes to preconception health and the family building journey, as it compliments clinical care through providing individuals with additional education, resources, and personalized support
- Frame Coaches provide key education, resources, advocacy, and emotional support around reproductive health and fertility so that individuals and couples can navigate their journey with clarity and confidence
What is preconception health and why is it important?
The saying “you don’t know what you don’t know” rings especially true when it comes to preconception health. Since many of us are taught young that we can “get pregnant easily” and need to focus on prevention, reproductive health risks are often not identified until we are actively trying to conceive. And because couples are waiting longer to build their families, these risks may not become apparent until they are also facing declining fertility due to age.
The best time to think about your fertility is often before you think you need to. Preconception health refers to one’s health during reproductive years, and it focuses on improving overall health to reduce any potential risk factors that may present a problem later. Well before we are ready to conceive, it is important to understand how our reproductive system functions, what reproductive health looks like, and what steps we can take to maximize future fertility.
Identifying reproductive health risks early can lead to a greater degree of choice and control later and can greatly improve fertility outcomes overall.
Let’s talk about health coaching
Health coaching can take many forms, but at its core, it is the practice of helping individuals improve their health outcomes through education, support and behavior change strategies. Health coaching is delivered through one-on-one work between a coach and an individual. This relationship typically develops over time and a safe, trusted and confidential space is co-created so that personal transformation can occur.
So why does health coaching matter when it comes to my fertility?
Health coaching in the context of fertility and family building is especially impactful. The process of understanding your fertility and embarking upon a family building journey can be filled with questions and unknowns.
Early education around reproductive health often focuses heavily on how to prevent pregnancy and then many of us spend our young adult lives carrying out these efforts. By the time we are ready to think about creating a family - whenever that is and whatever it may look like - the transition from “preventing” to “trying” can be more complicated than anticipated.
Fertility coaches provide individuals with additional hands-on guidance in the form of education, lifestyle support, resource sharing, and accountability. More specifically, coaches provide education around understanding the reproductive cycle and identifying reproductive health risks, while offering resources, tools and strategies to optimize fertility health for both individuals and partners. While coaches do not replace clinical care, they compliment it in order to help you set and achieve your goals around expanding your family.
Fertility coaches help support and strengthen the relationship(s) between patient and doctor. This includes care navigation (e.g. what kind of provider do you need to see and when) and advocacy (e.g. what questions do you need to ask and when do you need to push for more information or answers).
Perhaps most importantly, Fertility coaches provide compassion and empathy at every turn. 10-15% of couples will have trouble getting pregnant, and that number can be higher for those who experience stress or anxiety when planning or actively trying to conceive. In addition to helping navigate the practicalities, Fertility Coaches are highly skilled at providing emotional support and guidance every step of the way.
How can Frame help me along my journey?
No matter where you are on your family building journey, working with a Frame Coach means having your own personal resource and guide to hold your hand and move you forward.
Whether you are years away from wanting a family, would like to add a child to your family within a year, or have been trying for some time, your Coach will make sure you understand exactly what you need to know, provide you with resources and information to move you forward, and/or help you get the medical support you need in order to optimize your choices and your health as you take the next steps with confidence. Together, you will clarify your goals and agree on next steps, and your Coach will then be by your side as you take action and get closer to creating the family you desire.
The road to family building can be full of surprises and roadblocks. No one should have to navigate the process alone. Working with a Frame Coach will leave you in the best position possible to create the family you desire; on your own timeline and on your own terms.
